She may have developed a taste for martinis but don't write Melanie Louey off as your typical Bond girl.
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The Gungahlin mother took out Miss Pinup Australia with a bang on Saturday night, as her pin-up persona Miss Jade Serpentine sent the judges ducking for cover.
The mum-of-two shot cap guns and blow-darts at the audience as she sported the sweeping gowns and cheeky swimsuits synonymous with the women who catch the fictional MI6 agent's eye.
But while her costumes were in the traditional styles of the 1940s, '50s and '60s, her take on being a 007 leading lady was anything but.
"I didn't want to be any particular Bond girl – I wanted to be my own version of a Bond girl," Louey said.
"[Jade Serpentine's] got sass, she's got attitude, she won't take any crap from Bond. Will she fall into bed with Bond or will she try to kill him? Is she a good girl, is she a bad girl?"
Louey made sure her character didn't befall the usual Bond girl fate either.
"In evening wear [section] I was pretending I was at a cocktail party with Mr Bond and his martini and I was sitting there poisoning the martini," she said.
"The original format I was going to do was to drink the martini myself and die because Bond girls always die but then I thought, 'No I need to change it up.' So instead of dying I thought it would be much funnier if I punched him out and it worked."
Shy Louey said getting to play her sexy, sinister alter-ego Serpentine helped to bring her out of her shell.
"I'm just a totally different person and my friends and family can see that as well. I used to be the quiet one and now I'm more outspoken and I feel that I'm actually able to say things if I need to. It's built my self-confidence, I'm quite happy to go out to the shops and hold my head up high now and be proud of who I am," she said.
She said before meeting her "pin-up family", she was introverted and didn't have many friends.
"For a long time before [pin-up] I was quiet, I would rather read a book. Now I would rather go out and watch movies and travel around the country and meet new people. I've even gravitated towards espresso martinis!"
Plugged as a curiously non-pageant pageant, Miss Pinup Australia celebrates the fashion of yesteryear and the women who love to wear it
"Pin-up can be for everyone, it doesn't matter what age, shape or form you are," Louey said.
"What we're about is empowering and building self-confidence and to support each other."
More and more Canberra women are becoming a part of the pin-up movement and Louey said she'd like to see that translate into more ACT entrants for next year's Miss Pinup Australia.
"Hopefully Miss Pinup Australia will be running again next season so I'd like to encourage ladies and gentlemen to actually enter if they want to or talk to someone to see what it's like," she said.
